Mario & Luigi RPG: Memory
by SpadeNightmaren
Summary: A Mario & Luigi: Dream Team continuation in which Antasma returns after the battle with the bros. and has his memory rewritten to prevent further war with the Pi'illos. After Antasma awakens in captivity, he finds himself confronted by Dreambert, who offers a solution to Antasma's and the Pi'illo folks' endless war.
1. Chapter 1

The air beneath Pi'illo castle was cold and damp as Dreambert traveled to the place where his old enemy was being held. A Pi'illo master trailed close behind as they turned a corner in the dim, brick-paved cave. Dreambert could feel it; an almost suffocating feeling. He felt a sort of void grow in his chest. _Nightmares... _they weren't far off. The sense prickling at him only intensified as they finally came to their target. A limp form lay unconscious, chained to the wall. The chains reinforced with a spell to make them unbreakable. _Him... _even looking at his pathetic, sleeping form made his stomach writhe. Dreambert would have never thought this _creature_ could have survived what had happened all those months ago, yet here it is, right in front of his eyes.

How had it happened...? Ah yes... a few days ago, he was found washed up on Driftwood Shore weak and without consciousness. He had been dragged to the underground caverns of the Pi'illo castle. As much as Dreambert hated the thought of him still living... all their problems... including this nightmare's, will be solved in time.

The first thing he felt was the chilling air. It was thick, and it almost weighed him down. He was weak, not even able to open his eyelids. He tried to snuggle further into his cape, but his fatigue overcame him and kept him paralyzed. He could vaguely feel something cold and hard constricting his wrists. Breaking through his exhaustion, he slowly and weakly opened his eyes. His vision blurred a bit as his head throbbed for a few moments. He looked down at his hands to see they were tightly restrained by two golden cuffs. He struggled to lift his trembling arms to take a closer look at his restraints; the two cuffs around his wrists were fastened together by a short chain, and, at the middle, branched off into a longer link that connected to the wall.

"Antasma."

He jerked his head up to see two figures in front of him. He recognized one immediately. Dreambert, and behind him, a Pi'illo master.

Rage swelled in him at the sight of his old rival. The one who sealed him in the Dream World, a place he hoped to never see again as long as he remained living. The one who also mocked him as Antasma was betrayed by the only thing he could consider a friend. The one who tried to kill him and nearly succeeded.

The one who he used to be best friends with in his younger years.

He felt no warm regard for this Pi'illo though. Only a seething hatred. Antasma tried to dash forwards to attack the young prince only to be harshly yanked back by the chains imprisoning him. He felt a sharp pain in his wrists as they were forced back behind him by the cuffs. He let out a quiet hiss as the Pi'illo master behind Dreambert spoke,

"Calm yourself, Antasma. We mean no harm to you, we merely want to speak," The master said in a quiet, calm voice. Antasma felt his rage almost burst.

"No harm!? After you haff spent so many years hunting me down und trying to kill me!?" Antasma yelled back angrily. The master gave him a concerned look and replied in the same serene, unworried voice,

"That very fact is why we have decided to come to a new solution, beneficial to both you and the Pi'illo race. A non-violent solution,"

"I just vant to be free... let me leave the island. I haff no vill to start anything at thee moment. I am much too veak,"

He relaxed himself a bit, releasing the strain on his wrists from the cuffs pulling him back towards the wall he was chained to. Dreambert, who had not spoken, looked at Antasma with a slightly sympathetic look, it made Antasma's blood boil just looking at him.

"Antasma, you will have the freedom you wish for. We mean no harm to you,"

Antasma's attention perked a little at that statement. Would it be possible? He found it hard to believe that the Pi'illos would just leave him alone like that. There had to be some kind of catch to it.

They must have seen his skeptical expression because the Pi'illo master assured him,

"Antasma, we will not harm you. Just come with us to Somnom Woods. We'll explain the conditions. We merely wish for this harsh rivalry to end."

He considered this for a minute. They just wanted to speak with him? But why in Somnom Woods...? He would go, but would have to keep his guard up.

"Very vell, I vill listen to your solution..."

The Pi'illo master smiled warmly at him before snapping his fingers. His hand lit up and a variety of symbols appeared around them. Antasma heard a sharp _click_ before he felt the cold metal restraining his hands come loose and fall to the ground with a loud clang. He rubbed his slightly sore wrists and said,

"You are serious about this?"

Somnom Woods was a very silent, calming place, though at the same time could be considered eerie and unsettling all the same. It is the home of the Pi'illo masters. The outer reaches of Somnom were thick forests and poison swamps, meant to keep intruders out to preserve the inner region of the sacred place. Deep into the forest, the dense trees clear out and lead into a much stranger surrounding. Almost alien, this sacred area was filled with statues and temples built in dedication to the Zeekeeper, Pi'illo Island's guardian. Over time they have crumbled into almost nothing, though it only seemed to make the place seem more mystic. The core of Somnom Woods was supported by large conical platforms, jutting from a seemingly bottomless void. Many odd trees and plantlife were scattered around, some striped, some appeared as ginormous flowers, some were even bioluminescent. Light from above shone in-between the large platforms, illuminating the terrain in a very dramatic, almost dreamlike way.

Antasma followed lazily behind the prince and the master. In all honesty, he had never had quarrel with the Pi'illo masters. They never took sides, and had many years of experience and wisdom to offer to those who needed help. Even during his war with the Pi'illo race, they would allow him to take refuge in Somnom, albeit reluctantly.

He was led far into Somnom to where the Zeekeeper's dreampoint was located. The Ultibed that had been placed in the ruined temple was gone; probably moved to a more protected location. In the large clearing were several Pi'illo masters waiting; a few of them had their attention locked onto a small box they were fiddling with. The box didn't look like much, it had a few Pi'illo symbols carved into it; nothing more. Though, Antasma could sense almost a strange warmth coming from it. Strong emotions of every kind were emanating from the tiny case. He wasn't exactly sure why it was needed, but Antasma could feel a growing worry in the back of his mind._Something isn't right, _he thought to himself.

"Vhat do you need to speak vith me about?" He asked. The master he had been following turned to him and gave him a friendly look,

"Don't look so worried, Antasma. We are just going to discuss a few things with you. There is no need to feel uneasy," He assured the bat.

He led Antasma a bit further into the clearing when he felt an energy surround him. He looked around to find that a forcefield had been set around the ruined temple; preventing any escape. The Pi'illo master in front of Antasma shot Dreambert a scornful look._Why would Dreambert feel the need to...?_

"Your Highness... that is not necessary..." He said in a mildly irked tone.

"It is merely a cautionary method, master," Dreambert replied.

The Pi'illo master gave an inward sigh before turning to Antasma,

"Ah- Don't look so worried, Antasma,"

"Vorried!? You just sealed me in here vith you und you expect me to remain_calm!?_"

"Ahhh... Please excuse that, it wasn't planned for that to occur."

He heard Dreambert make an annoyed huff from behind.

"Antasma," The Pi'illo master began, "You have been through many hardships in your life, correct?"

Antasma shifted uncomfortably,_Get out of there! _His mind screamed at him.

"Do you feel that if you had never turned against us, you would be happier still today?"

_What is this, a guilt trip? _He thought. Though, he couldn't help but wonder... would it? The Pi'illo was right that his past did weigh his emotions down immensely... had he not gone against the Pi'illos?_I probably would have had a more laid back life... _The idea of it was almost untouchable though.

"There is a way we can help you forget everything," The Pi'illo offered,

_Oh no._

"We can give you a new memory. Free of the misfortune and betrayal you have come across,"

_No no no!_

"You will awaken feeling happier and relaxed-"

_Enough._

"_STOP!_" Antasma yelled, "I'm not letting you rewrite my memories! I haff gone through too much just to give it all up now!"

"Antasma." Dreambert spoke in a commanding voice from behind, "We are not giving you a choice,"

The Pi'illo master shot him a worried look, "Y-your Highness...?"

_We are not giving you a choice._

Antasma couldn't move. He had only felt fear like this two other times in his thousands of years of life. He didn't want this. He could vaguely hear Dreambert and the Pi'illo master arguing, though it sounded distant. He could only think to escape. Perhaps he could shatter the forcefield...? Not likely.

_ You have to try! _His mind screamed back at him.

"You know very well he isn't going to willingly go through this!"

"Perhaps we can persuade him into-"

They were interrupted by Antasma suddenly dashing to the edge of the forcefield. He slammed himself into it, trying to break it? Impossible. The spell Dreambert had used was designed specifically to trap nightmares.

"Restrain him," Dreambert ordered. He couldn't have Antasma cause any more trouble.

"Prince...! Please consider what you're doing, forcing him will only-"

_You don't understand.  
_  
"That is an order!"

_I want my old friend back._

The Pi'illo gave Dreambert a pleading look before casting the binding spell. Antasma was suddenly surrounded and constricted by three glowing rings, letting out a loud screech in the process. He violently thrashed around, desperately trying to free himself. He was then forcefully pulled back to where they were previously speaking.

_I don't hate Antasma._

The Pi'illo took the small case from the other master who had been holding it. The small lock on it clicked open, causing the lid to spring back to its open position. The inside of the box now lay fully exposed; a small, but powerfully radiating orb sat resting in a protective red padding. He flew up to Antasma's eye level.

_I hate what the nightmares have turned him into._

"Forgive us, Antasma. You will feel much better soon,"

Antasma looked terrified. Dreambert had only seen this look only a few other times; when he was being sealed into the Dream World, and when he had nearly experienced death itself. He almost felt bad.

The Pi'illo master removed the orb and let go of the box, which remained suspended in midair.

"I don't vant to," Antasma said in a pleading voice.

"Do not worry. You will not remember any of this," The Pi'illo replied, trying to calm him.

The master reached out a hand and gently rested it on the bat king's forehead. After a moment he pulled it away, with a stream of white light following. Antasma's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open as he let out a quiet, shaky gasp before his frightened facial expression fell blank. Dreambert saw his muscles relax and his body slump forwards a bit.

The light that the Pi'illo had removed- Antasma's memories, formed into an orb identical to the one that had been protected in the case. He put the new orb into the box and closed the lid, handing it off to another Pi'illo master.

"Put that somewhere safe. Make sure nobody but us should find it," He commanded. The Pi'illo nodded and went off further into Somnom.

The orb that the Pi'illo master had been tightly holding held out his arm and opened his palm, causing the replacement orb to dissolve into the same stream that had been removed from the bat. It quickly entered Antasma's body, causing him to straighten up again. After his new memories were set in his mind, he remained still and wide-eyed for a few moments before his eyes rolled back into his skull as he lost consciousness.

* * *

**Hey everyone, it's been a while since I've done any creative writing, (almost a year?) so if there's any errors in this please let me know! Feedback is also appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

Antasma had been brought back to Pi'illo Castle nearly an hour after Dreambert had returned. They had sent him back, telling him they still had to make a few changes on him in addition to his new memory. They had not told him what adjustments were made until they had arrived back with the still-unconscious nightmare. After their arrival, they had explained the alterations they had made to his body; nothing extremely drastic. His eyesight had been fixed to allow him to see clearly in light, as well as in darkness, and they had put a barrier around his mind to prevent the nightmares he ate from altering his behavior. Honestly, Dreambert expected them to have done more, considering how long it took, but he didn't complain.

Antasma was currently taking up one of the guest rooms in the hotel hallway of the castle. Dreambert had been instructed to wait in the room with him until he awoke to prevent any confusion. Dreambert was shown the new memories that had been given to Antasma; they were very similar to his own. His earlier memories, the Pi'illo master explained, did not need to be removed given that Antasma had already been good friends with the prince then. His replacement memory started just before he began turning evil, working forwards from that point, he will believe that he had never turned against the Pi'illo Kingdom. To him, the Dark Stone shattered itself as a result of overloading power, and he was petrified along with the rest of the island. From the point where Mario and Luigi freed Dreambert, Antasma was given the memories of being freed by them and later joining them when Bowser got involved.  
_  
It was a mistake to force him into this, though_; Dreambert thought to himself. He didn't know why he had become so forceful back in Somnom Woods. He hadn't been that frantic about something in _years. _He should've tried to persuade Antasma a bit more instead of jumping forwards and forcing the decision onto the bat. Dreambert looked over at Antasma. _Still out?_ He sighed and paced the room for the umpteenth time.

The room that Antasma occupied was one of the larger ones. The bed he was currently asleep in was twice the size of a regular mattress, probably meant to hold two, and the bed itself was on a step-up level from the floor. Directly above the bed was a curtain rack with the Zeekeeper (or, at least the popular logo depiction of the deity.) nailed onto it. Rather tacky, to someone who knew the Zeekeeper personally. The higher level of the floor took up about half the room, though, there was honestly no need for such since the only item on the upper level was the bed itself. In each of the corners of the room, rather than coming to a sharp angle, a 3/4 segment of a pillar jutted out of the joined walls. The lower level sported much more furniture and decoration, with a large wardrobe on the right wall. A table was installed in the corner where the edge of the upper level met with the right wall; holding a few books about the Island and a potted plant with two circular stools to sit on. Dreambert had been sitting at that table before his nerves got the best of him and forced him up to his feet to pace the room. The room itself was made of a cool gray stone, polished to absolute smoothness, though there were tiles that had been left from ancient times in the floor adorned in the Pi'illo alphabet. Spread across the lower half of the hotel room was a circular yellow and orange-checkered carpet that led out to the hallway. The room itself was lit by a small fire pit built into a hole in the stone walls, providing comfortable lighting at night. Dreambert paid no mind to the small details, though. He was too deep in thought. 

It wasn't long before Dreambert was snapped back to reality by the sound of something moving. He turned his attention to the source of the noise to find Antasma sitting himself up in the bed. He had been changed out of his cape, it was much too filthy to be worn any longer. It had been muck-stained from washing up on Driftwood Shore and had been torn in the process. He was currently wearing a cheap white T-shirt that had been purchased from the gift shop on the first floor of the castle. They had misjudged his size and his shoulders ended up being wider than they appeared, causing the shirt to unnaturally stretch across his chest. It didn't look very comfortable, but he didn't seem bothered by it. He tugged a bit at the collar of his shirt as his eyes scanned the room. Dreambert noticed Antasma's facial expression had changed from his usual squinty, tired stare to one filled with curiosity. His gaze momentarily paused on Dreambert before he blinked and continued looking around the room. When he didn't seem to find anything of interest, he flopped back into the bed and cocooned himself in the thick layers of blankets.

After a few moments of silence, Dreambert hovered over to where Antasma had burrowed into the covers. He prodded at the nightmare a little through the bedsheets,

"A-Antasma...?"

"Hmm?"

He pushed the covers off himself to look at the prince. It seemed his cape wasn't the only thing that had gotten dirty. Looking at the bat king closer, Dreambert could see clumps of mud and sand that had matted into his fur where it lay thickest. Some of it had even gotten into the sheets; they'd have to be cleaned right away before they stained...

"You need to take a shower,"

Antasma sat up in the bed and rubbed at his arm, a few clumps of dried sand fell off causing him to hiss in disgust.

"I suppose so," He said as he pushed himself off his bed and straightened in his regular hovering position and sleepily drifted over to the door to the hotel room's bathroom. After he entered and closed the door, Dreambert sat back on one of the stools next to the table. He heard the sound of water running in the bathroom followed by a loud shriek. He quickly flew up to the door, a bit worried.

"What's wrong?"

"It's cold!" Antasma's voice yelped from inside the bathroom.

"You have to wait for it to warm up!"

There was a short pause before he heard Antasma yell back, " I-I knew that...!"

He went and sat back at the table while Antasma cleaned himself up. He'd have to notify the Pi'illo masters that Antasma was awake. One of them was just downstairs, so he wouldn't need to go all the way back to Somnom Woods. As far as Dreambert could tell, Antasma wasn't experiencing a whole lot of confusion from the memory swap at the moment. The masters had warned he may ask odd questions or zone out a bit, or even have residual emotions from before, but it would only be the result of his mind still adjusting. The drowsiness was only natural, as he had already been through a lot beforehand. _I'll still need to ask him what he remembers, though.  
_  
It was about twenty or so minutes before Dreambert heard the water stop. He walked back up to the door, knocked, and asked,

"Are you feeling alright, Antasma?"

"I'm a bit tired..." He answered back in a calm tone, "Though... I feel like I just got into a big argument, I don't understand vhy though..."

_He still has a few residual emotions from before... _Dreambert mused. He was once again torn from his thoughts when he heard a quiet "_Hm?_" from inside the bathroom, followed by the sound of a blow-dryer turning on, and then Antasma screeching. Shortly after, there was a loud _craak _as if something had been dropped or smashed. Dreambert burst into the bathroom to see Antasma holding onto the handle-end of a hair dryer, with the other half laying smashed on the tile. Antasma's gaze shot over to Dreambert.

"I didn't expect it to..."

Dreambert let out an audible groan before saying, "Dry yourself off," and leaving through the bathroom door.

A few minutes passed before Antasma came out wearing the towel he'd used over his shoulders,

"Do you haff another shirt for me to use...?" He asked the prince, "Und vhere's my cape?"

"It, ah... got ruined sometime before you washed up on the beach. I have an extra shirt, though,"

Dreambert looked around for the bag he'd bought the shirt in; it came in a pack of three. He found it under the table and proceeded to take another tightly wrapped T-shirt out of the packaging. He handed it to Antasma, who then hung up the towel over the door to the bathroom and tugged the shirt onto himself, his sizeable claws accidentally snagging on a few stray threads in the process,

"It's a bit small," He said in a slightly irked tone, "I'll haff to get something that fits later,"

_He's talking to me like we've been friends our entire lives... _Dreambert thought to himself. Honestly he was a bit curious as to how Antasma remembered the recent events on the island...

"Antasma?"

"Yes...?"

"What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

A mildly puzzled look swept across Antasma's face as he thought to himself.

"After thee fight vith Bowser... I-I didn't make it out vhen his castle crumbled... I think I got hit by something heavy. Everything is blank after that," He said in an unsure tone.

"And what do you remember beforewe entered the castle?"

Antasma frowned, "Dreambert, you vere there the whole time!"

_Oops. _He probably shouldn't have asked something like that. He'd even been told that Antasma had the memories of tagging along with him and the Bros. To Antasma, this was probably a really dumb sounding question.

"Oh right..." He forced out a laugh and tried to make it sound like a joke. Antasma blinked at him,

"Is something bothering you?" He asked.

"N-no! Not at all!" Dreambert hastily replied. Antasma gave him a funny look before heading to exit the hotel room. Dreambert ran over to follow him. He couldn't have the bat king freely wandering around just yet, and if he ran into anyone who didn't know about his new memories... that wouldn't end up well. He had already notified the Pi'illos of Antasma's rewritten memories prior to taking him to Somnom Woods, so he wouldn't need to worry about Antasma running into any of them... but if he came across that one fanatic, Pi'illoper. He shuddered at the thought.

Dreambert suddenly felt something grasp him from behind and pull him upwards. Looking up, he saw it was Antasma who had grabbed him.

"What are you doing?"

Antasma didn't answer as he hoisted the prince up onto his shoulders. After the prince had relaxed he replied,

"You haff been looking like you've been about to pass out since I voke up..." He said in a concerned tone. Dreambert grabbed onto Antasma's head to help stabilize himself. His fur was surprisingly soft... Dreambert had half expected it to feel rough or wiry.

"Your fur is so soft, Antasma,"

_Ugh, that probably sounded weird_. Antasma just laughed in return and continued through the castle. The bat king suddenly stopped moving, he turned around,

"Vhat's that noise?"

It took Dreambert a few moments before he could hear it as well. It sounded like someone was yelling from outside the castle. He could immediately recognize the voice as it became louder,

"N-No! N_NO! _No pictures lil' dudes! I'm- stop that! I'm not an attraction, I'm a _deity_! Leave me alone! I just want to talk to somebody- _hey!_" The voice was cut off by loud squawking and the sound of wings flapping, followed by the screams of a group of people. A few moments later the Zeekeeper came stumbling angrily into the castle's hotel section hallway.

"I hate tourists! I _hhhaAATE _them! They seriously expect me to do silly magic tricks for them like I'm at a kid's party!? No way! One of them even wanted me to hit them with my Wakebeam!" He vented in a deeply annoyed tone. His glare turned on Dreambert,

"And _you._" He paused, "I need to talk to you,"

Dreambert immediately jumped off Antasma's shoulders and followed the Zeekeeper into another room. Antasma wondered if he should've followed, but the Zeekeeper hadn't exactly addressed him about anything. He decided it would probably be best to stay outside, as he could already vaguely hear arguing through the closed door. He edged closer to the doorway until he could make out what was being said,

"...ause if we ever have to restore his memory, he's going to be _really _steamed about all that,"

Antasma didn't understand what the Zeekeeper meant by this, nor did he particularly care, but he still couldn't help but to be a bit curious as to why it was so important. It wasn't long before the two came back out. Dreambert returned to Antasma's side with a sour look on his face while the Zeekeeper squeezed through the hallway to the castle's exit.

"Vhat vas that about?"

Dreambert glanced up at him, "Nothing important."

They continued through to the bottom floor of Pi'illo Castle when they stopped outside the Café. Antasma was told by Dreambert to wait while he went to get one of the Pi'illo masters. The one he was searching for was not far off, so it only took about a minute before they returned. The Pi'illo master that he'd brought led them down another hall into one of the guest bedrooms and had Antasma sit at one of the tables.

"How are you feeling?" He asked,

"I don't feel much different than I usually do,"

"I just felt I should check on you. You may have some residual issues that might need fixing from before you fell unconscious."

The Pi'illo master held up his hand and a white mist escaped from his palm, surrounding Antasma. A wave of sleepiness suddenly passed over him as he fought to stay awake before the mist disappeared from around him.

"I can't find anything physically or mentally wrong at the moment. You seem to be recovering well from the battle and any strange events that followed."

Another Pi'illo came in the room, this one wearing the typical pink outfit that was popular among many of them. He looked up at Antasma and made a short, loud noise that sounded like a mixture between a gasp and a scream. Antasma tilted his head to the side,

"Is something wrong?" He asked. He'd never seen anyone have that type of reaction to him before. The Pi'illo relaxed a bit and responded in a shaky voice,

"Ah- n-nothing Antasma..." He turned to Dreambert, "Your highness, you should probably begin arranging preparations for the arrival of the rulers of the neighboring kingdoms." Dreambert's face turned to shock as he grabbed the sides of his head exclaiming, "I've forgotten all about that!" and dashed out into the hallway. The Pi'illo turned to Antasma,

"You... you should probably change into something better. We've given you a room at the very end of the hallway. You'll find some new clothing for you there."

* * *

**ew filler chapters. It'll get more interesting I promise!**

**Updates may be slow because I've been working on a comic and I need to do commissions.**


	3. Chapter 3

It only took a few days before Pi'illo castle was completely covered in fancy decorations. Colorful ribbons and feathers streamed the ceiling and wrapped around pillars. Many of them were tied in a bow with the Pi'illo emblem holding the cloth together in the center. There were tables covered in the same colorful cloth where food would soon be set out, currently only holding empty platters and trays.

Antasma had been told to stay back at the castle while the rulers of the Mushroom and Beanbean kingdoms arrived. In all honesty, he had really wanted to greet the newcomers but Dreambert had said he needed to "explain some things" before he was able to meet them. Antasma tried to not let it bother him, he _was_ a nightmare after all... someone who didn't know him could react in fear and cause a scene. He had begun pacing after about twenty minutes of being alone. He tugged at his shirt collar a bit- a nervous habit. He wasn't exactly used to the fabric of his clothing being against his body.

He had changed into a more fitting outfit for the occasion; he wore a white button-up collared shirt that cuffed at the ends of the sleeves. Over that was a black vest that was trimmed in purple across the buttons and around the base. The lapels of his vest were also trimmed in purple and took the shape of three spikes on either side, resembling the ones on his head. The uppermost spike stretched just past his shoulders. In place of his typical bowtie was a fuschia tie, with his swirled emblem attached to the knot. Antasma's attention was shifted when he heard the sound of small, quick footsteps nearing the spacious room he was waiting in. He turned around to see a short beanish scuttling in. He immediately halted when he noticed Antasma, eyes widened, even trembling a bit.

He wasn't very impressive; sporting an oversized blue sweater that reached down to his ankles due to his small size, with brown shoes just barely visible from under the giant hoodie. He wore what looked like the Pi'illo Kingdom emblem as a mask over his face. His golden eyes were visible through two holes in his mask, staring up at Antasma. He quickly jabbed a hand into the pocket of his hoodie and produced a small camera, muttering in scrambled words Antasma couldn't quite make sense of. He pointed it in Antasma's direction, snapped a photo in a bright flash and ran out the room. Antasma's eyesight blurred a bit from the unexpected burst of light, but quickly managed to refocus.

It was about an hour before Dreambert returned, accompanied by the Island's new guests. The queen and prince of the Beanbean kingdom followed next to Princess Peach and her guards. Antasma backed into a nearby hallway to avoid causing distractions. A few Pi'illos entered the room shortly after the group had turned down a corridor, carrying a few heavy-looking crates. It seemed they were having trouble with the weight. He hovered over to them, catching their attention rather quickly and causing them to stumble back a bit and drop the boxes. He frowned; he could feel their fear. He didn't like seeing others afraid of him, and he didn't believe he'd had this problem before. It seemed it had only recently become an issue.

"Don't be afraid of me... I von't hurt you." He said to them, tilting his head a bit. He picked up a few of the crates, stacking them against him. It wasn't at all heavy to him; his strength was inhuman, but to a Pi'illo, it would be a bit troublesome to carry more than one.

"You looked as if you needed help..."

"Oh- ah, thank you...?" One of the Pi'illos replied. Antasma reached for a fourth, noticeably smaller box, only to have his hand pushed aside by another Pi'illo,

"N-no! I'll carry this one. It is to be put in a safe place." He said, dashing off down a corridor. Antasma was curious as to why that particular one was so important, the Pi'illo almost seemed panicked when he had reached for it. He had felt energy pulse from the crate but had thought nothing of it. He decided to not let something like that bother him at the moment.

"Vhere should these go?" He asked. A Pi'illo turned to him,

"Just take them into the staff room by the castle's entrance." She said.

He immediately went off in the direction towards the entrance. The Pi'illos watched him, fascinated. It was odd seeing him so friendly towards them. They each picked up the remainders of the heavy crates and followed behind Antasma.

Dreambert continued to show his guests around Pi'illo castle, pointing out historical items, explaining the Island's history, trying to help them feel more relaxed. After a while he turned back to look at the group, only to find that Peach was gone. He was about to panic until the prince of the Beanbean kingdom spoke up,

"I saw her stop to look at some purple guy wearing a vest... I think she may have followed him after we turned into that hallway back there," He said reassuringly. Dreambert sighed in relief.

"I'll go find them," He said, backtracking down the hall. "Your hotel rooms are already prepared for you, they're just down the hall."

He turned into the main foyer of the Pi'illo Castle, having no luck finding either Peach or Antasma. He was about to turn back to look in the café until he heard the two familiar voices laughing from inside the staff break room. He hovered over and peeked inside to find Antasma and Peach in conversation with each other. Occasionally one would say something to make the other laugh, or they would tell about a previous experience (or occasionally, in Antasma's case, one from a fabricated memory.). Antasma also seemed even friendlier with the Princess than he was with Dreambert, he could almost see a glint in the bat king's eyes he'd never seen before. Antasma's attention suddenly shifted over to Dreambert, waving at him and smiling. Dreambert moved into the room over to the Princess,

"Princess, your luggage has been delivered to your room. You should probably sort it so you'll have nothing to worry about later tonight." Dreambert reached into the pocket on his tunic and pulled out a plastic room key. He handed it to her and led her out of the staff room and up to the top floor of the castle. Dreambert looked back, surprised to see that Antasma had followed. His attention was still mainly on the princess, though his eyes would occasionally dart around or he would look behind him.

"Antasma, is something bothering you?" Dreambert finally asked. Antasma's attention snapped over to Dreambert, then he shook his head. As they arrived at the huge hotel room, Peach turned back to Antasma,

"I'm looking forward to talking to you some more later," She said with a smile. Antasma nodded and smiled back,

"I am as vell."

After Peach disappeared into the hotel room, Antasma covered his face with his hands. His muffled voice came through, almost like a whine,

"I like her a lot..." He put his hands down and looked over at Dreambert, "Vhat is happening tonight?" He asked, cocking his head to one side. It occured to Dreambert that he had never actually told Antasma why they had invited the neighboring countries' rulers.

"We are hosting a ball to improve ties and relationships with the other countries. Everyone on the island is free to come as well; there will probably be a lot of people." A mildly concerned look swept across Antasma's face, mixed in with what almost looked like anger.

"I haff a feeling some... unvelcome guests might come," His gaze flicked back over to Dreambert, "If there is going to be a lot of people, vhat vould happen if something bad vere to happen to somevun important?"

"The security will be very high, since we have very special guests with us. There is nothing to worry about. You should probably ask around to see if anyone needs help with setting up."

_+_

Later that night the Pi'illo castle was nearly swarming with guests and tourists dressed from street casual to sporting full gowns and tuxedos. They had been lucky enough to get a live band to play music in time. They had come from a far off island, somewhere off the coast of Beanbean Kingdom. Many of the musicians were human or beanish, other than the singer, who would only occasionally come out for a song. He seemed to be a completely different species that Dreambert had never seen before. He was too far away to be seen in detail, though Dreambert could clearly see his cyan skin glowing, his whole form almost translucent (other than his clothing, which was a plain black tuxedo at the moment.). His head, which was an odd, rounded shape had a horn-like object that zigzagged behind him, occasionally shifting colors at the end. Every time he'd come out, his voice seemed to change with every new song he'd sing.

At the moment, he was singing a slow song to which many of the guests coupled together to dance to. Antasma had been speaking to Peach again, and had brought her out to the dance floor when the song had started. At the moment, he had an idiotic grin plastered on his face.

"It almost hurts me to look at him. Physically _hurts _dude," A voice said from behind Dreambert. He turned around to see the Zeekeeper standing close behind him.

"Look at his goofy face. I'm _really _tempted to chuck something at him," Zeekeeper groaned, squinting his eyes in annoyance. "Maybe that'll snap him out of this ridiculous personality you've forced onto him. Oh wait! You have his old personality locked up in a sad little box." Zeekeeper's gaze turned to Dreambert, filled with displeasure.

He couldn't figure out exactly _why _the Zeekeeper was so angry about the incident. Perhaps the damage Antasma could cause if he ever got his memories back? That wouldn't be the case unless something so dire were to happen that his memories would need to be restored though. Maybe he just couldn't stand seeing an opponent that was at least somewhat formidable to the deity become absolutely harmless. Antasma had done nothing these past few days but act friendly to everyone. Dreambert supposed it could be a bit depressing to watch... Antasma and the Zeekeeper had had some incredible battles during the time of their war with him.

Dreambert hadn't realized the slow song had ended until Antasma came hovering over, smiling even wider than before. He really _did _seem to like the princess, though Dreambert didn't want their relationship to turn into anything more than a one-sided crush... if it progressed it could have disastrous outcomes (Especially with a certain koopa king with jealousy issues already having an unhealthy infatuation with her). Antasma moved over so he could stand next to Dreambert. Dreambert could hear a barely audible sound coming from Antasma, almost like a low rumble that seemed to follow his breathing pattern. _Purring? I never knew he was capable of that. _Dreambert thought silently to himself. Antasma turned to him,

"I think I started making this noise vhen thee song vas near its end... I didn't know I could purr," He clasped his hands together and dropped his gaze, "But Peach said it vas cute und gave me a kiss on thee cheek but... It only made me purr louder, though." He buried his face into his hands.

The nightmare was interrupted when Zeekeeper audibly sighed and stormed away in the most dramatic way possible.

Antasma wasn't sure what to make of the feelings Peach stirred in him. It wasn't any he had felt before. At first he had mistaken it for fear, but it wasn't the same. It was confusing to the nightmare, though as much as he tried to ignore the new emotions, he could still feel them creep back into him whenever he was close to her.

His train of thought was interrupted by a distant rumble, it sounded like it came from just off the island. He knew nobody else would be able to hear, since his hearing was hypersensitive. It almost sounded like an airship...

Another rumble sounded off, closer this time, followed by a vague vibration through the ground. A few people seemed to notice it this time. He could hear whatever was outside advancing on the island receive a burst of speed. The sounds of its flight stalled, only to be followed with the sound of something charging up.

It was only moments later when the ceiling suddenly caved in on itself and a figure was seen jumping through the giant gap in the castle's roof. After the dust and rubble cleared away, the horridly familiar form of Bowser was seen advancing towards the thinning crowd. Antasma trailed his gaze over to where Bowser was moving to see Peach directly in the center of the crowd that was quickly dispersing in front of her. _Bowser couldn't just leave her alone for one night?_ Using his power, Antasma teleported himself in front of her in a quick attempt to protect her.

Bowser halted immediately when Antasma appeared in front of him. Staring in shock a for a half second before taking a deep breath and expelling flame from his mouth. Almost immediately, Antasma created a dark field that deflected the flame instantaneously.

The koopa king noticed this and furiously shot out a hand, taking hold of Antasma's tie and yanking him forwards. He pulled a fist back, ready to punch.

Something in the back of Antasma's mind pricked at him. Almost like a memory, but consisting only of emotions. They took hold of the bat king, filling him with anger and hatred. The longer he looked at Bowser, the more furious he seemed to get. Antasma could feel the ghost of a vague sensation, like being slammed against something. This flurry of emotions took hold of him, and he dug his claws deep into Bowser's arm, causing him to release his hold on Antasma.

Antasma's senses seemed to slowly be dulling as this force took further hold of him. The last thing he experienced was him rushing forwards in a fit of anger straight at Bowser. He could vaguely feel his fist making impact with the koopa.

Everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Dreambert watched as Antasma darted into Bowser, his fist making contact with the koopa's skull in a fast, deadly motion. He could see the bat king breathing heavily as he slowly advanced on his dazed target. He tightly grabbed onto Bowser's horns, hoisted him up to his feet and hit him again, harder than before. Dreambert couldn't take this, luckily for Antasma, almost all of the guests had fled out of the castle, and the others staying at the castle had been taken back upstairs to safety.

"Antasma, calm down!" Dreambert tried to reason. Antasma's head snapped back in Dreambert's direction. His eyes had flickered a bright red as he glared harshly at the prince.

"I _AM_ CALM!" He shrieked back. Dreambert opened his mouth to try to call to him again when a voice interrupted him.

"There is no use trying to reason with him. He's been overtaken by a lingering memory."

Dreambert turned to see a Pi'illo master standing behind him, more specifically, the one whom he had ordered to remove Antasma's memories.

"What?"

"You understand how... stubborn Antasma can be at times. I wasn't able to remove all of his memories with him resisting as much as he had," He crossed his arms, "Which is why I had wanted to convince him into it willingly rather than have him as terrified as he was." The Pi'illo said.

Dreambert's gaze flicked back over to Antasma, who was still throwing punches at Bowser.

"But why would that cause him to act so violently?"

"The memories he managed to keep happen to be the ones that have affected him the most. We had to put a block on them so that he'd never recollect any of them while conscious but... they can be triggered if he experiences certain things. At the moment it seems to be the one of Bowser's betrayal. When something like this happens, he loses consciousness and can temporarily revert back to his old personality. He'll only stay like this for a few minutes, however. He'll collapse and have no recollection of anything he did while overtaken."

Dreambert watched as Antasma continued to pummel the koopa, who was trying his best to keep conscious but eventually was unable to cope with his aggressor and passed out, falling over with a loud thump. Antasma grabbed him by the horns again and dragged him out the front gate of the castle. Moments later a loud _splash! _sounded from just outside the building. The bat king came hovering in shortly after, looking a bit dazed before his eyes flicked back to their normal golden color. He swayed a bit before he fell face first onto the stone tile. Dreambert hesitantly hovered over to Antasma, careful in case he were to wake with the same blind anger he had just moments before. When the prince reached Antasma, he shook him gently, earning a tired groan from the nightmare. His eyes were shut, Dreambert shook him again. No response this time. He was completely out. The prince sighed.

"Take him back to his room," He told one of the castle's workers. Antasma was then hoisted up over the attendant's shoulders and half carried, half dragged up to the top floor, where Pi'illo Castle's residents stayed. Dreambert sighed and glanced over to the Pi'illo master who had followed him.

"How often will this happen?" He asked in a nervous voice.

"Not often. Though it shouldn't have happened tonight. Perhaps his desire to protect the princess had fueled his episode."

Dreambert looked back over to Peach, who had been taken to a safer area in the room after she had refused to leave. She didn't seem at all shaken about what she had just witnessed, but worried.

"I'm grateful that Antasma got rid of Bowser but... is he going to be alright? I'd just gotten used to his new self," She said, with her gaze on the Pi'illo master.

"He will be back to normal when he wakes. The most he should have is a headache. Do not worry yourself, you should get back to your room." He said with a smile.

The Pi'illo master glanced back over at Dreambert.

"Antasma seems to have dumped Bowser into the moat outside. You should have someone bring him back to the Mushroom Kingdom before he regains consciousness."

_+_

Antasma awoke to bright sunlight streaming through the only window in his room. Quite unwelcome at the least, as it merely caused his head to throb. He looked around, someone had put him back in his room and dumped him on his couch. He let out a quiet hiss. He disliked sleeping horizontally, and this probably was only making his headache worse than it should be. He was much more accustomed to sleeping upside down, given he was a bat, after all.

He sat up, causing him to feel a sudden soreness shoot through his arms. He didn't remember much from the previous night. He was only able to recall up to the point where Peach kissed him on the cheek. His face flushed a deeper purple as he purred quietly at the memory before pushing himself completely off the couch. He glanced around his room once more, nothing very impressive. Much of it was similar to the hotel rooms, though most of the furniture was a rich purple color with his signature tri-spiked trimmings. There was an iron hook where the bed should be, nailed onto the ceiling. He would hang there to sleep. It was only a placeholder though. He had asked Bedsmith to build him something a bit less... ugly. He wasn't sure if the bedmaker was able to build what he had asked for, but it was better than the ugly ornament he was currently using. The replacement he had ordered was similar with the hook, though it had a disk at the base where a sheet could be attached to allow him to wrap himself up. He found it uncomfortable being uncovered while sleeping.

He exited his room to be greeted by Dreambert, who was looking up at him with a skeptic expression.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" He asked.

"Only up to thee point vhen Peach kissed me... then I voke up on the couch in my room." He replied. He didn't know why Dreambert would ask something like that, nor why he would know about his memory loss. It made him wonder what had happened last night and why he couldn't remember any of it. Antasma continued downstairs to exit the castle only to find a crew of construction workers hurriedly repairing a giant hole in the castle's ceiling. He could only stare wide-eyed at it, wondering if it was really something real. Dreambert tugged at the back of his shirt.

"Don't worry about it, you had nothing to do with it." He said. Antasma looked down at the prince and nodded, still wide-eyed. He didn't want that hole there. It bothered him a lot.

He tried his best to move around the construction that was going on and made his way out of the castle.

Antasma spent most of the day completing favors for others and amusing tourists. Almost immediately after he left the castle he had been asked by Brickle to smash some heavy rocks that had piled up, and later had been pulled over to Dozing Sands to get rid of an overabundance of monsters that apparently had been affecting construction. He had tried to relax a bit at Wakeport, though he merely ended up running a bunch of errands for busy tourists. Some of them decided it would be a good idea to try and pet him, given he had fur. It resulted in a lot of swatting and hissing; he'd never let someone do that to him in public, much less a _stranger. _And when he had gone to the Blimport to get away from people, they had asked him to repair one of the broken engines on a blimp. Antasma couldn't figure out how they knew about his experience with machinery, though he didn't want to question them. The end of the day though came to a very pleasant close. He was able to show Peach the deeper reaches of Somnom Woods, and even take her to the very bottom of the pillared area. Not many things grew there, mainly bioluminescent plants since the area was barely touched by light. Much of the terrain was filled with water, it had been that way since before the Dark Stone incident. It was a very popular boating area then, and by some miracle, the boats remained in perfect condition and appeared nearly untouched by nature. Or at least the ones crafted by the Pi'illo Masters were.

Antasma had taken Peach almost all the way around both the river and the high pillars before they decided to head back to the castle. It was late, so they decided it would be best to just get some rest. They were heading home the next day anyways. Antasma couldn't help but feel almost a void in his chest at the thought of her leaving, but she'd visit again, right? If not, he could always take a trip over to her kingdom.

_+_

Bowser sat angrily on his huge bed as dozens of his minions tended to his wounds. They weren't so extreme as to need so many people tending to them, but Antasma _had_ hit hard enough to make him bleed. He'd earned himself a black eye and lost a few teeth, as well as having visible claw marks across his face and chest where Antasma had slapped him with his claws unsheathed. Kamek was at the other side of the room yelling about something- he wasn't listening to the old magikoopa at all though. It had been a few hours since he'd woken up, and the constant attention from his medics was starting to grate his nerves.

The one thing that made him even more mad than the unwanted attention was the fact that he had been beaten to a pulp to someone he had shown up, and he had been beaten _in front of a crowd. _Not to mention Antasma was completely unlike his normal self. Why was he so intent on protecting Peach? And the way he glanced back at her... he didn't like it one bit.

Bowser pushed himself off his bed and barged through the minions frantically telling him he wasn't well enough do to work yet. He was still determined to capture the princess, and his plan was sure to work this time. He tried to shove his soldiers back onto the airships, only to have them tell him for the second time that he's too badly injured to try this again. Letting out an angry huff, he called on the residual power from the Dream Stone incident to materialize a fleet of minions who would actually _do as they're told. _He hadn't told anyone that he'd kept some of the Dream Stone's power after inhaling it, and his minions could only stare in shock as he boarded the ship. He'd be prepared for anyone who would try to stop him this time.

* * *

**Hey, sorry for the late update! I just wanted to get over with school and finals before posting more. **

**I promise the Antasma/Peach/Bowser won't go into a love triangle don't worry.**


End file.
